This invention relates to separable fasteners and a method and apparatus for manufacturing these fasteners. More particularly, the fasteners are of the press-on and split-off type in which at least one face is provided with a series of laterally adjacent uniformly corrugated resilient strips. Adjoining strips are staggered relative to each other so that the ridges on one strip are laterally aligned with the depressions or spaces between ridges or adjoining strips.
"Press-on and split-off" separable fasteners are the type in which two members, each having a large number of closely spaced fastening elements, engage one another in a face-to-face relationship in contrast with zippers wherein the two members employ a side-to-side butt relationship. A well known type of press-on and split-off fastener employs a first tape having a large and dense population of flexible hooks mounted on a face thereof and a second tape having a large and dense population of loops mounted on a face thereof. The two tapes fasten together when they are pressed together face-to-face so that the hooks engage the loops and they become separated or split apart when the tapes are pulled away from each other in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the engaging faces. In making this type of fastener, both the first and second tapes have a pile face construction which forms loops. In order to form hooks on one of the tapes it is necessary to cut the piles into hooks thereby requiring a relatively expensive manufacturing process. This type of fastener also requires a mating pair of hooked and looped tapes since if two "hooked" tapes are pressed face-to-face or if two "looped" tapes are pressed face-to-face a weak closure is formed. This precludes being able to fold the tape upon itself to form an effective closure. It also requires care and uniformity of selection when deciding which of the first and second tapes is to be applied to particular items to insure that two items which are to be attached together do not both wind up with either a hooked tape or a looped tape. For example, such care in selection must be used when one item is to serve as a base on which any one or more items are to be fastened.
Accordingly, it is one objective of this invention to provide a novel "press-on and split-off" type fastener which can be manufactured easily and inexpensively and which permits the use of mating tapes of identical structure to provide a strong and effective fastener.
It is another objective of this invention to provide a method of and apparatus for manufacturing the separable fastener of this invention inexpensively and continuously.